Reports and White Papers – Page 17

Library Services in the Digital Age

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project has released Library Services in the Digital Age.

Here's an excerpt:

The availability of free computers and internet access now rivals book lending and reference expertise as a vital service of libraries. . . .

Moreover, a notable share of Americans say they would embrace even wider uses of technology at libraries such as:

Online research services allowing patrons to pose questions and get answers from librarians. . . .

Apps-based access to library materials and programs. . . .

Access to technology "petting zoos" to try out new devices. . . .

GPS-navigation apps to help patrons locate material inside library buildings. . . .

"Redbox"-style lending machines or kiosks located throughout the community where people can check out books, movies or music without having to go to the library itself. . . .

"Amazon"-style customized book/audio/video recommendation schemes that are based on patrons' prior library behavior. . . .

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

ODI Survey Report: Reflections and Perspectives on Discovery Services

NISO has released the ODI Survey Report: Reflections and Perspectives on Discovery Services.

Here's an excerpt:

The results of the NISO ODI survey demonstrate multiple complexities involved in the cross-sector teamwork required to support discovery of scholarly works. For a relatively new entrant into the academic technology space, discovery services have rapidly grown to provide researchers—as well as libraries and content providers—with many benefits. The various stakeholders, which produce and distribute the published product metadata that drives search and retrieval, have done fairly well to date with ad-hoc business and technical arrangements. Ultimately, the results of this survey support the work of the ODI, which aims to recommend streamlined and standard practices that might improve interactions across this complicated landscape.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Born Digital: Guidance for Donors, Dealers, and Archival Repositories

The MediaCommons Press has released a draft for comment of Born Digital: Guidance for Donors, Dealers, and Archival Repositories .

Here's an excerpt from the announcement :

Co-authored by a team of ten archivists and curators from the Beinecke, the Bodleian, the British Library, the Harry Ransom Center, Emory's Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, and the Rubenstein Library at Duke, the report is the outcome of a series of conversations about how born-digital materials are acquired and transferred to archival repositories.

The main body of the report surveys the primary issues and concerns related to born-digital acquisitions and is intended for a broad audience with varying levels of interest and expertise, including donors, dealers, and archival repositories, as well as scholars, students, and researchers. Appendices provide information about how to prepare for the unexpected and possible staffing costs, as well as ready-to-use checklists that incorporate recommendations from throughout the report.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Forensics and Preservation

The Digital Preservation Coalition has released Digital Forensics and Preservation.

Here's an excerpt:

In recent years, digital forensics has emerged as an essential source of tools and approaches for facilitating digital preservation and curation, specifically for protecting and investigating evidence from the past. Institutional repositories and professionals with responsibilities for personal archives can benefit from forensics in addressing digital authenticity, accountability and accessibility. . . . .Forensic technology makes it possible to: identify privacy issues; establish a chain of custody for provenance; employ write protection for capture and transfer; and detect forgery or manipulation. It can extract and mine relevant metadata and content; enable efficient indexing and searching by curators; and facilitate audit control and granular access privileges. . . . The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad overview of digital forensics, with some pointers to resources and tools that may benefit cultural heritage and, specifically, the curation of personal digital archives.

| Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works (EPUB, PDF, paperback, and XHTML) | Digital Scholarship |

Developing an Institutional Research Data Management Plan Service

EDUCAUSE has released Developing an Institutional Research Data Management Plan Service.

Here's an excerpt:

Institutions should consider the following as they plan how to best support researchers in preparation of their proposed DMP:

Identify a model for local administration of research data management plan services.

Provide resources that can be accessed conveniently by researchers during the proposal development process.

Designate one or more dedicated staff to be available for a range of consulting needs.

This white paper includes the following sections:

What Should Be Included in the DMP

Developing a DMP Service at Your Institution

Skill Sets Required to support a DMP Consulting Service

| Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 2 | Digital Scholarship |

Supporting the Changing Research Practices of Historians

Ithaka S+R has released Supporting the Changing Research Practices of Historians .

Here's an excerpt:

In History, the Ithaka S+R project team found a discipline in transition. An expansion in the nature of the field over the past 50 years has introduced new sources, both in terms of subject coverage and international scope. However, only a comparatively small share of the primary sources required by historians has been made available digitally, tempering the opportunity for new methods to take hold.

Even if the impact of computational analysis and other types of new research methods remains limited to a subset of historians, new research practices and communications mechanisms are being adopted widely, bringing with them both opportunities and challenges.

| Digital Scholarship's 2012 Publications | Digital Scholarship |

The Right to Be Forgotten—Between Expectations and Practice

The European Network and Information Security Agency has released The Right to Be Forgotten—Between Expectations and Practice.

Here's an excerpt:

The right to be forgotten is included in the proposed regulation on data protection published by the European Commission in January 20121. The regulation is still to be adopted by the European Parliament for entering into force. The different legal aspects of the right to be forgotten (i.e. right to erasure or right to oblivion) have been debated in different contexts and are beyond the scope of this paper. With this paper we aim to cover other facets of the right to be forgotten. We focus on the technical means to enforce or support the right in information systems; as can be seen from this paper, there are technical limitations and there is a further need for clear definitions and legal clarifications.

| Digital Scholarship's 2012 Publications | Digital Scholarship |

"Contribution to the Definition of a Positive Agenda for the Public Domain: A Policy Paper by COMMUNIA International Association on the Public Domain"

COMMUNIA has released "Contribution to the Definition of a Positive Agenda for the Public Domain: A Policy Paper by COMMUNIA International Association on the Public Domain."

Here's an excerpt:

This policy paper proposes to contribute to defining a positive agenda for the Public Domain. It is grounded on a WIPO study by Professor Sèverine Dusollier, Communia policy recommendations and Communia previous WIPO statements. This work-in-progress document presents policy recommendations and strategies aimed at the trans-national level , namely WIPO CDIP and SCCR. Legal language will be drafted at a later stage.

| Digital Scholarship |

"Who’s Tracking Your Reading Habits? An E-Book Buyer’s Guide to Privacy, 2012 Edition"

The EFF has released "Who's Tracking Your Reading Habits? An E-Book Buyer's Guide to Privacy, 2012 Edition."

Here's an excerpt:

As we've done since 2009, again we've taken some of the most popular e-book platforms and combed through their privacy policies for answers to common privacy questions that users deserve to know. In many cases, these answers were frustratingly vague and long-winded. In nearly all cases, reading e-books means giving up more privacy than browsing through a physical bookstore or library, or reading a paper book in your own home. Here, we've examined the policies of Google Books, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, Sony, Overdrive, Indiebound, Internet Archive, and Adobe Content Server for answers to the following questions:

Can they keep track of searches for books?

Can they monitor what you're reading and how you're reading it after purchase and link that information back to you? Can they do that when the e-book is obtained elsewhere?

What compatibility does the device have with books not purchased from an associated eBook store?

Do they keep a record of book purchases? Can they track book purchases or acquisitions made from other sources?

With whom can they share the information collected in non-aggregated form?

Do they have mechanisms for customers to access, correct, or delete the information?

Can they share information outside the company without the customer's consent?

| Digital Scholarship's Digital/Print Books | Digital Scholarship |

Academic Libraries and Research Data Services: Current Practices and Plans for the Future

ARCL has released Academic Libraries and Research Data Services: Current Practices and Plans for the Future.

Here's an excerpt:

This study surveyed a cross section of academic library members of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in the United States and Canada to provide a baseline assessment of the current state of and future plans for research data services in academic libraries in these countries.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works |

The Potential Role for Intermediaries in Managing the Payment of Open Access Article Processing Charges (APCs)

JISC has released The Potential Role for Intermediaries in Managing the Payment of Open Access Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Here's an excerpt:

This report examines the operational challenges that universities, funders and publishers face in the UK relating to the payment of article processing charges (APCs)—the charges levied by the publishers of open access and hybrid journals to meet the costs of the publication process. It then examines the feasibility of using intermediaries of various kinds to provide services to aggregate payments as between universities and publishers, along with other services relating to the processes involved in ensuring that an article is published on open access terms. . . .

We conclude as a result of our work that with a very few exceptions, the systems and processes currently associated with the payment of APCs are sub-optimal, and could present a significant barrier to the wider adoption of open access publishing.

| Digital Scholarship | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

Status and Outlook for University of Michigan Research Profile Data Strategy

Natsuko Nicholls has self-archived Status and Outlook for University of Michigan Research Profile Data Strategy in Deep Blue.

Here's an excerpt:

My investigation into various faculty expertise efforts and activities across institutions shows that many universities have not yet developed or adopted a centralized, comprehensive university-wide system for expertise data collection and activity reporting. There is still substantial variation in procedures across departments and colleges within institutions and considerable duplication of effort across campus units. However, it is indeed the recent trend that many institutions—including the University of Michigan—have actively engaged in campus-wide discussions about research profile data curation needs, concluding that a more centralized system would provide incentives for timely data-entry, guarantee currency of the expertise data, and increase overall efficiency and data quality. This study also sheds light on the role of the academic library as an important stakeholder in expertise data collection and management. My findings suggest that various attributes of an academic library make it an ideal driver for research profile data management. The academic library is a strong resource for information technology expertise as well as information management and dissemination at any institution. Further, it tends to be a neutral and trusted entity, especially with employees who regularly engage with researchers and have a good understanding of the academic landscape and the needs of the research community. In addition to providing an overview of the research landscape where profiling needs are quickly rising and where benefits from a well-managed profile data system are widely understood, this study also illuminates the conventional use of expertise databases and research networking/discovery tools as well as Current Research Information Systems (CRIS).

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

DOAB User Needs Analysis—Final Report

The Directory of Open Access Books has released the DOAB User Needs Analysis—Final Report.

Here's an excerpt:

This final evaluation and recommendation report is based on the user experiences, needs, and expectations as they emerged from the qualitative components (survey, workshop and online discussion platform) that were used to conduct the DOAB User Needs Analysis. This final public report, intended for the wider academic and publishing community, aims to advise in the establishment of procedures, criteria and standards concerning the set-up and functioning of the DOAB platform and service and to devise guidelines and recommendations for admissions to DOAB and for its further development, sustainability and implementation.

| Digital Scholarship |

Republican Study Committee Released Progressive Copyright Brief Then Withdrew It

The Republican Study Committee released “Three Myths about Copyright Law and Where to Start to Fix it,” which attracted immediate attention due to its progressive view of copyright. Now, the brief's PDF is blank.

However, in “Republican Report: 3 Myths of Copyright, Quashed by MPAA and RIAA,” Ash McGonigal provides a working link to the full text in addition to a recap of the situation.

| Digital Scholarship |

How Readers Discover Content in Scholarly Journals: Summary Edition

Renew Training has released How Readers Discover Content in Scholarly Journals: Summary Edition.

Here's an excerpt:

This summary report is the output of a large scale survey of journal readers (n=19064) about journal content discovery conducted during May, June and July of 2102.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

Changing Role of Senior Administrators, SPEC Kit 331

ARL has released the Changing Role of Senior Administrators, SPEC Kit 331.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published Changing Role of Senior Administrators, SPEC Kit 331, which focuses on the professional, administrative, and management positions that report directly to the library director (or, in some ARL member libraries, the position that serves as the representative to the Association), positions that have not been examined by a SPEC survey since 1984. This SPEC Kit explores the responsibilities of these positions, and the skills, qualifications, and competencies necessary for these administrators to successfully lead a transforming 21st-century research library. The publication looks at whether and how position requirements have changed in the past five years, whether the number of direct reports has changed, whether these administrators have assumed new areas of organizational responsibility, and how they acquire the new skills to fulfill those responsibilities.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

FOSS Accessibility Tools for Libraries: Step-by-Step Guide

EIFL has released the FOSS Accessibility Tools for Libraries: Step-by-Step Guide.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Using technology appropriately can enhance the library experience for all users, but is particularly significant for users with disabilities. Creating electronic resources as accessibly as possible is a useful starting point, but for some users specific technologies will be needed to access those resources. There are many FOSS tools available to support library users with a variety of needs, ranging from those with visual impairment or blindness, to users with dyslexia or who have difficulty using a mouse, or simply users who have limited reading ability or prefer to listen to text than read it on-screen. Most librarians are not specialists in this area and can be discouraged by the sheer number and variety of FOSS tools available to support disabled users. This is why EIFL have created a step-by-step guide to some of the most helpful and easy-to-use tools.

| Digital Scholarship's Digital/Print Books | Digital Scholarship |

How Teens Do Research in the Digital World

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project has released How Teens Do Research in the Digital World.

Here's an excerpt:

Virtually all (99%) AP and NWP teachers in this study agree with the notion that "the internet enables students to access a wider range of resources than would otherwise be available," and 65% agree that "the internet makes today's students more self-sufficient researchers."

At the same time, 76% of teachers surveyed "strongly agree" with the assertion that internet search engines have conditioned students to expect to be able to find information quickly and easily.

Large majorities also agree with the notion that the amount of information available online today is overwhelming to most students (83%) and that today's digital technologies discourage students from using a wide range of sources when conducting research (71%).

Fewer teachers, but still a majority of this sample (60%), agree with the assertion that today's technologies make it harder for students to find credible sources of information.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Report of the ARL Joint Task Force on Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities

The Association of Research Libraries has released the Report of the ARL Joint Task Force on Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities.

Here's an excerpt from:

This ARL task force report highlights emerging and promising strategies to better align research libraries with other institutional and related partners in ensuring accessibility to research resources while fully meeting legal requirements. The report addresses the technological, service, and legal factors relating to a variety of information resources with respect to print disability. These factors resonate closely with the existing research library agenda to make scholarly communication more open, to foster independence among its user base by teaching information literacy, to honor and invest in diversity, as well as to focus on the growing trend toward universal design in instruction.

| Digital Scholarship's Digital/Print Books | Digital Scholarship |

E-books: Developments and Policy Considerations

The OECD has released E-books: Developments and Policy Considerations.

Here's an excerpt:

The essential distinction between permanent and effective ownership of a physical book, and conditional rights of access to the e-book, has, so far, been somewhat obscured by marketing strategies and use of visual images, which tend to present e-books as a superior, but also substitutable, version of the print book product. Given the virtual reality of "traditional books" presented by e-Book platforms, buyers of e-books are likely to confuse their rights (i.e. after purchase) with the property rights model for print books. Users may be surprised to find that they are prevented from doing certain things7 with their e-book, within their private/ personal sphere.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Measuring the Impact of Digital Resources: The Balanced Value Impact Model

King's College London has released Measuring the Impact of Digital Resources: The Balanced Value Impact Model.

Here's an excerpt:

This document synthesizes information from the whole Impact Assessment sector and then proposes the Balanced Value Impact Model as a means to effectively carry out an Impact Assessment relating to the benefits of digitization and digital resources in general. It seeks to help the communities identified above to provide a compelling argument for future work. Thus, you will find in this document information on:

Where the value and impact can be found in digital resources,

Who are the beneficiaries gaining from the impact and value,

How to measure change and impact for digital resources,

What makes for good indicators of change in peopleâ€™s lives,

How to do an Impact Assessment using the Balanced Value Impact Model, and

How to present a convincing evidence-based argument for digital resources?

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

UNT Libraries: Open Access Fund Research Report

The University of North Texas Libraries have released the UNT Libraries: Open Access Fund Research Report.

Here's the abstract:

This report discusses Open Access (OA) funds created at universities in order to assist faculty authors with Article Processing Charges (APCs). Building on the research initiatives of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), thirty North American universities' OA fund initiatives were reviewed on their sponsors, eligibility, reimbursement criteria, and stipulations related to the fund. In addition, fifteen OA journal funding models and twelve hybrid journal funding models were reviewed on their average APCs and their licensing policies. This report serves as a framework for building upon emerging best practices and outlining possible approaches and considerations for the University of North Texas.

| Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Curating for Quality: Ensuring Data Quality to Enable New Science

The UNC School of Information & Library Science has released Curating for Quality: Ensuring Data Quality to Enable New Science.

Here's an excerpt:

The National Science Foundation sponsored a workshop on September 10 and 11, 2012, in Arlington, Virginia on "Curating for Quality: Ensuring Data Quality to Enable New Science." Individuals from government, academic and industry settings gathered to discuss issues, strategies and priorities for ensuring quality in collections of data. This workshop aimed to define data quality research issues and potential solutions. The workshop objectives were organized into four clusters: (1) data quality criteria and contexts, (2) human and institutional factors, (3) tools for effective and painless curation, and (4) metrics for data quality. . . .

The workshop identified several key challenges that include:

selection strategies—how to determine what is most valuable to preserve

how much and which context to include—how to insure that data is interpretable and usable in the future, what metadata to include

tools and techniques to support painless curation—creating and sharing tools and techniques that apply across disciplines

cost and accountability models—how to balance selection, context decisions with cost constraints.

| Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works | Digital Scholarship |

The Current State of Open Access Repository Interoperability

The Confederation of Open Access Repositories has released The Current State of Open Access Repository Interoperability.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The report provides an overview of the current interoperability landscape in terms of the types of services that are now possible because of recent research and development efforts from throughout the Open Access community. The report covers seven areas of focus for current interoperability initiatives, and it provides overviews of nineteen key interoperability initiatives.

The intended audience includes institutions and repository managers operating at different points in terms of infrastructure, resources, and institutional support. For institutions new to Open Access and repositories, the report aims to provide guidance for getting started and indicates which interoperability initiatives are necessary to implement in order to achieve specific services. For institutions and repository managers already involved in OA and repositories, the report may provide ideas for additional functionality to add to your repository or further services that are possible to provide to your community.

| Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

OAPEN-UK HSS Researcher Survey Results

The OAPEN-UK project has released the OAPEN-UK HSS Researcher Survey Results.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Here are some of the highlights:

Only 50% of researchers are aware of OA and only 30% familiar with it.

Around 50% of researchers think it is ok to make a profit from OA publishing as long as that profit goes back into supporting the discipline or making more OA content available — 20% think you can make a profit and use it however you like and 20% think that you can make a profit but only to cover costs.

Almost 80% would prefer the most restrictive Creative Comms licence, but what is interesting is that the responses show that researchers are more concerned about protecting their work than it being used commercially.

60% had read a monograph in the last couple of days â 39% had bought it and 33% had got it via the library

Early career academics are more willing to consider self-publishing than later career researchers.

| Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |